Save Your Bacon Drippings: Greening Your Kitchen

For years, I avoided cooking bacon. Lest you mistakenly think me more principled than I really am, it was not because bacon is made from pig or because it clogs your arteries, it was just because I never knew what to do with all the fat that's inevitably left in the pan.

I knew It would be a bad idea to pour it down the drain since it congeals when it cools down, creating an unfortunate, pipe-clogging effect. So I would usually pour it all into a used sour cream or yogurt container, put a top on it and put it in the garbage. It was a decent solution but, nonetheless, it just never sat right with me...

But I had a flash of brilliance as I was facing a pan of bacon grease about a year ago - why not pour the fat into a glass jar, put a lid on it and put it in the fridge to cook with later???

Those of you who already know this trick are probably saying "No, duh!" and feeling rather disappointed in how long it took me to catch on. There's really no need for you to keep reading...

But for those of you to whom this is news, let me just say that it opens up a whole new world (to quote Ariel from the Little Mermaid) of culinary possibilities. In addition to being less wasteful, reusing the bacon grease for cooking also just makes things taste really good...

Here are a few of the uses I've found so far (I'm sure there are many more):

• Greasing a pan (I now use a spoonful of bacon fat in my cast iron skillet whenever I make corn bread and I just used some to grease the muffin tins for a batch of popovers this morning - so good!)
• Frying potatoes
• Cooking eggs
• Sautéeing onions and/or garlic
• Sautéeing greens like kale, chard or spinach

The bacon fat lends all of these things an irresistibly smokey bacon flavor. I've also found this little bit of extra flavor to be a helpful substitute in cases when I would actually like to include some bacon but don't have any on hand.

A few notes:

1. One thing to be aware of is that, unless you were to go the extra mile and actually strain the bacon grease (which I'm not going to do), there will be little particles of bacon left in it. They'll show up dark brown against the creamy white of the fat when it all cools down. Be warned that those little bits will burn when they get hot enough. That is why I would not recommend using the recycled fat for something like stir-frying where you really need an oil like peanut (or a pure rendered fat like lard) that has a high smoke point.

2. Also, wait for the pan to cool down before you pour the fat off - you don't want to burn yourself or risk cracking the jar due to a sudden change in temperature.

3. If you can't get bacon from a pig farm near you (which would be ideal), I think the best alternative is probably Applegate Farms organic Sunday bacon.

Please share any other suggested uses via comments. And don't forget to check out the other entries in the Greening Your Kitchen series.

You might also like:

• Skillet Cornbread
• Maple Roasted Yams With Bacon & Beer
• Asparagus With Goat, Cheese, Bacon & Candied Pecans
• Skip the BPA, Switch to Glass Storage Containers

Want even more recipes, photos, giveaways, and food-related inspiration? "Like" the Garden of Eating on Facebook, or follow me on Twitter or Pinterest.

Blueberry Yogurt Tart With Gingery Graham Cracker Crust

I made this beautiful summertime treat for the first time last night and am happy to report that it's delicious, satisfying, cool and easy to make. In short, I think you're going to love it...

We spent a mighty pleasant morning picking blueberries at Greig Farm yesterday - it was hot but there was a nice breeze and the blueberry bushes are actually tall enough to create a little shade. Every time we go, I am amazed all over again by how beautiful the berries are - perfectly plump and juicy with that soft, lush dusky coating that rubs off when you touch them, exposing the darker, shiny blue underneath.

And there are just many of them, too. Sadly, this is not the case with the raspberries this year - they got frost damaged in the wacky weather we had in the late winter/early spring. But the blueberries are going strong!

I saw the recipe that inspired this tart show up via Food & Wine over the weekend and knew I wanted to earmark some of the fresh berries to try it out. Although I am typically only interested in desserts that contain chocolate, something about this one appealed to me very strongly. I think it was the spicy ginger in combination with tart yogurt and sweet berries. And since my husband is a confirmed ginger hound, I figured I could not go wrong...

I  more or less stuck with the recipe though I have made it tastier and less healthy (but come on, this is a DESSERT!) by substituting whole milk Greek yogurt for the non-fat and by basically doubling the amount of butter in the crust, adding more sugar, and removing the egg white as I did not feel like wasting an egg yolk.

I also added a sprinkling of cinnamon to the crust mixture. And think it would be good to include some lemon zest in the honeyed yogurt (though I had used up my last lemon so I could not try it.)

Despite the fact that all Greek yogurt has already been drained (I believe the extra draining is the only difference between Greek yogurt and other yogurts and what accounts for its characteristically firm texture), I followed the directions and drained the Greek yogurt for a number of hours before composing the tart. It did shed a little more water weight, becoming even firmer and creamier in the process. However, I think that if you were pressed for time, you could probably just use it as is.

I could not have been more pleased with the results - it is really just scrumptious.

A perfect summer dessert using fresh, local berries. Go pick some or just pick some up at your local farmers' market this week - you won't regret it!

Blueberry Yogurt Tart With Gingery Graham Cracker Crust

Makes one 9-inch tart

Ingredients

* 10-20 whole graham crackers, broken in half - enough to make 1 1/2 cups of crumbs (the grahams I used were on the small side being some health food variety and I needed closer to 20 -- if you're not sure just measure your crumbs and then dump them back in the food processor)

* 1/4 cup crystallized ginger, finely chopped

* 1/4 cup sugar

* Pinch of salt

* 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

* 1 tsp lemon zest (optional)

* 5-6 Tbsps unsalted butter, melted

* 2 cups Greek yogurt (I used a tub of Fage's whole milk yogurt), drained overnight or for several hours

* 2 tablespoons honey

* 1- 1 1/2 cups fresh blueberries

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 350° and grease a pie dish or tart pan with removable bottom. In a food processor, pulse the graham crackers with the crystallized ginger, sugar, salt and cinnamon until finely ground. Add the melted butter and pulse until the crumbs are evenly coated.

2. Press the crumbs evenly over the bottom and up the sides of the pie dish or tart pan. Bake for about 20 minutes, until the crust is lightly browned. Let the crust cool completely. (You can make the crust up to a day ahead of time and just keep it wrapped in a plastic bag in the fridge if you like.)

3. In a medium bowl, mix the drained yogurt with the honey and (optional) lemon zest. Spread the yogurt in the crust and arrange the blueberries over the surface of the yogurt in any pattern you like. You could also throw some raspberries in there for added color if you feel like it. Cut the tart in slices and sit back to enjoy the oohs and aahs...

You might also like:

• Chocolate Raspberry Tart
• Fresh Peach Cobbler With Biscuit Topping
• Rustic Plum Tart
• Strawberry Shortcake

Want even more recipes, photos, giveaways, and food-related inspiration? "Like" the Garden of Eating on Facebook, or follow me on Twitter or Pinterest.

Pickled Garlic Scapes

We got another big bunch of garlic scapes from our CSA this week. As we've still got plenty of garlic scape pesto in the freezer from the last haul, I figured I'd try something new. And we've been really loving both the pickled ramps and pickled asparagus we made recently so pickling seemed like the way to go.

I turned to my new go-to canning Bible, Marisa McClellan's lovely, new book, Food in Jars: Preserving in Small Batches Year-Round. Sure enough, she had a good-sounding and very simple recipe for pickled garlic scapes. I cut her original recipe in half since I only had half a pound (have I mentioned yet how much I love my little OXO kitchen scale?!) of scapes, but if you have more, just double or triple the amounts below to fit.

As usual, I was trying to do at least three things at once while I made these and missed the little note at the very bottom of the page about her preferred method of packing since I was slightly at a loss because the scapes inevitably end up in both straight and curly pieces. I've included it higher up here so that YOU won't miss it. And mine will still taste just as good as if I'd packed them more neatly.

Also, a note on the pickling spices - I included a lot of spices but you could also do this with just peppercorns, bay leaf and dill or coriander seeds if you don't have all of these things - nothing is set in stone!

In my opinion, the only downside to this (or any pickles) is the intensely vinegar-y smell that pervades your house for a few hours after you boil your brine. But it fades and it's so worth it once you finally crack open a jar of whatever you've made.

Pickled Garlic Scapes adapted from the Food in Jars cookbook

Makes one pint jar

Ingredients

* 1/2 pound garlic scapes (1 decent-sized bunch)

* 1/4 teaspoon coriander seeds

* 1/4 teaspoon mustard seeds

* a few whole cloves

* a bay leaf

* 1/4 teaspoon dill seed

* an allspice berry

* a juniper berry

* a pinch of hot pepper flakes

* 1/2 teaspoon whole black peppercorns

* 3/4 cups apple cider vinegar

* 3/4 cups water

* 1 tablespoon pickling salt

Directions

1. Trim the ends of the scapes, both the blossom end and the hard bit that formed at the original cut, and cut them into lengths that will fit in your jar. Prepare a small boiling water bath and sterilize a single pint jar, lid and band.

2. Combine the vinegar, water and pickling salt in a pot and bring to a boil.

3. Remove the jar from the boiling water bath, empty and set on a kitchen towel. Place the spices in the sterilized pint jar along with a pinch of salt.

4. Pack the trimmed scapes into the jar. Note: since you'll be dealing with both straight and curved pieces, Marisa suggests packing the curved pieces along the sides of the jar and the straighter pieces inside standing straight up - kind of a like a curly log cabin look (or vice versa) - I ended up just putting mine all in there in no order which is also fine.

5. Slowly pour the hot brine over the garlic scapes, leaving 1/2-inch headspace. Once the jar is full, tap the jar lightly to dislodge any air bubbles. Check the headspace again and add more brine if necessary.

6. Wipe the rim, apply the lid and ring, and process in a hot water bath for 10 minutes. Let these pickles cure for at least a week before eating. Pickles will last for several weeks in refrigerator after initial seal is broken.

You might also like:

• Quick pickled ramps
• Garlic scape pesto with herbs
• Pickled watermelon radish
• Tarragon pickled onions

Want even more recipes, photos, giveaways, and food-related inspiration? "Like" the Garden of Eating on Facebook, or follow me on Twitter or Pinterest.